Moonbase Alpha Status Report: 1702 days after leaving Earth
Orbit
Shermeen Williams, a pretty young botanist on Moonbase Alpha, is helping
Tony Verdeschi to cultivate hops for his beer. Shermeen has developed a crush on Tony, much to the annoyance of fellow
botanist Eddie Collins, who is rather taken with Shermeen.
Unfortunately, when Tony takes his latest brew to Command Centre for
a taste test, it fails miserably and Tony blames Shermeen, who, very upset by his criticism, runs out of Command Centre in
tears.
Shermeen shuts herself in her quarters and sobs. She suddenly
senses a presence in the room, and see's a disembodied face appear in the corner of her room. Helena Russell arrives
at her quarters to check on Shermeen, and the young girl tells Helena about the face she saw, but Helena puts it down to a
nightmare.
In Command Centre Commander John Koenig organises a landing party to investigate the planet they
are orbiting, which appears to be suitable for habitation. Helena advises John that Shermeen thought she saw a
man's face in her quarters and advises against Shermeen joining the landing party, so John dispatches Tony Verdeschi to tell
Shermeen the news.
Shermeen is upset that Eddie Collins is to be the botanist assigned
to the landing party rather than her, and accuses Tony of having a hand in the decision. Once Tony has left, Shermeen
see's the face of the man once again and he introduces himself as Vindrus from the planet they are orbiting which is named
Sunim.
The landing party consisting of Maya, Tony Verdeschi, Bill Fraser and John Koenig, board
the travel tube and find Shermeen waiting for them. She explains that Eddie Collins has been taken ill and she is quite
fit to join the party. John accepts her explanation and the landing party head for the planet below.
On the planet John Koenig tells Maya that the planet is exactly like Earth so he is puzzled as
to why their sensors are not picking up any life forms. Shermeen wanders off to gather plant
samples and Vindrus appears to her. Meanwhile the rest of the landing party discover a temple which is guarded
by an armed creature, but the creature will not venture past an obelisk at the edge of a wood.
Vindrus leads Shermeen to the temple and they go inside where Vindrus tells her that he needs
her help so that he can cross from his world into hers. He points out a machine that will assist him to come into
her world, and asks her to take a cylinder back to Alpha.
Bill Fraser finds Shermeen's footprints leading to the temple but they
puzzled as to how she got past the creature. Maya transforms into a fox and makes her way to the temple, where she finds
Shermeen. Maya takes video of the images on the walls of the temples, and the two women leave. Maya hesitates
when she see's the creature but Shermeen assures Maya that the creature will not harm them.
Once back on Moonbase Alpha, Tony and John review the video taken by Maya
of the images inside the temple. The images appear to depict the whole evolutionary process of man, but despite the
appearance of the creature on the planet surface, Alpha's instruments still detect no life forms. Maya concludes that
they are dealing with matter against anti-matter. She tells Tony and John that she saw an accelarator machine set up
in the temple, and the machines function is to convert anit-matter into matter.
Vindrus tells Shermeen that she must take the cylinder, which she brought back from the planet, and
find a nuclear generator into which the cylinder fits. Tony Verdeschi arrives in Hydroponics and Vindrus appears to
him, telling him that Shermeen is assisting him in crossing over to their world. Tony is knocked out and made
to forget everything he has heard.
Shermeen goes to the equipment room and, using a flower, knocks out technician Chris Potter.
She then takes one of the miniature nuclear generators. Shermeen boards an Eagle and hypnotises Bill Fraser into
taking the Eagle to the planet Sunim.
On the planet Sunim, Vindrus instructs Shermeen to connect the nuclear generator to the matter/anti-matter
machine in the temple. She steps into a glass booth, and Vindrus steps into another glass booth. They exchange
places, Shermeen is sent into the anti-matter world whilst Vindrus comes into the matter world.
Tony, Maya and John travel to Sunim where they are met by Vindrus who is now as human as they are.
He tells John that Shermeen is in the temple and won't come out but perhaps John should go inside and get her.
John follows Vindrus into the temple after instructing Tony and Maya to remain outside, but Tony follows John into the temple.
Once inside the temple Vindrus seals the door to the temple, and Tony remembers his previous meeting
with Vindrus. Vindrus informs John that he had to send Shermeen into the anti-matter world so that he could become matter.
He tries to force John and Tony to get into the glass booths but John throws his commlock at him to allow himself and Tony
time to attempt to escape.
Outisde the temple, Maya transforms into a monkey, climbs the temple walls and gets inside the temple
via an opening. John tells Vindrus that Shermeen is coming back, she never made it completely into his world because
he programmed the generator so that it would not work on full power.
Maya transforms into Shermeen and gets inside one of the glass booths,
calling to Vindrus that they have to try again. Vindrus approaches the glass booth, and Tony pushes him in whilst John
bars the door shut. Maya turns the matter/anti-matter machine on and begins to fiddle with the dials, but she cannot
remember which dial to turn. Shermeen, partially appearing inside the glass booth, is able to guide her as to which
dial to turn and Shermeen reappears into the world of matter.
John sets the nuclear reactor to self destruct and the landing party
head back to the Eagles. Before the Eagles can take off the planet Sunim disappears, and Maya confirms that the
planet has returned to a state of anti-matter.
Episode synopsis copyright Jeannine Hochet
